By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. & New Mexico Political Report — State Senate Republicans want New Mexico’s Epstein Truth Commission to put two of the state’s most prominent Democrats under oath — gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland and U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury — and they’re warning the commission’s credibility is on the line if it says no. Stansbury says she’s happy to testify. Deb Haaland’s campaign did not comment directly on the subpoena request, but they have previously addressed the underlying claims regarding her 2014 campaign flight by pointing to independent fact-checks and flight records.
The New Mexico Senate Republican Caucus is asking the bipartisan commission, which has already issued more than a dozen subpoenas to federal agencies, banks and law enforcement investigating Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch, to extend that scrutiny to state political leaders. The caucus points to released Epstein files showing Haaland flew on an Epstein-arranged charter jet in 2014 while running for lieutenant governor and to what it calls reporting tying Stansbury to a former employer with alleged links to Ghislaine Maxwell.
What the commission is
The New MexicoTruth Commission — formally the House Special Investigatory Committee — was created by unanimous vote of the New Mexico House in February to investigate Epstein’s activities at Zorro Ranch near Stanley, which he owned for 26 years, and the failures that let alleged abuse go unaddressed for decades. It has subpoena power and a $2 million budget, and coordinates its findings with the state Department of Justice. The commission held its first meeting Feb. 17. House Speaker Javier Martínez appointed the four-member panel: Chair Andrea Romero, a Democrat from Santa Fe who is also an attorney who championed the commission’s creation; Marianna Anaya, a Democrat from Albuquerque, who has worked with sexual assault survivors; Andrea Reeb, a Republican from Clovis, a former district attorney; and William “Bill” Hall, a Republican from Aztec, who a retired FBI agent.
Haaland’s campaign declined to comment directly on this story Thursday but pointed to underlying flight records and independent fact-checks. The jet was not Epstein’s; it was booked through a third-party charter company, InJet, at the request of Gary King, Haaland’s 2014 running mate on the gubernatorial ticket, and King’s campaign — not Haaland’s — paid for the charter. Haaland and King maintained separate campaign committees, as required under New Mexico law. NM Political Report quoted campaign spokesperson Hannah Menchhoff in February saying Haaland “never had any interaction with him and the way in which the plane was chartered was never communicated to her.” The Santa Fe New Mexican separately examined a similar claim made in a campaign ad this spring and found it mischaracterized Haaland’s connection to Epstein, reporting the plane was not his.
Stansbury flatly denied any connection to Epstein or Maxwell. “I have never interacted with, worked for, or otherwise had any relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, or any person in their orbit beyond our federal investigation into their crimes,” she said, calling the caucus’s characterization “false and libelous.” She said she has worked with the commission and is “happy to testify” before it, and called on Senate Republicans to instead join her in pushing for full release of federal, state and local Epstein files and compliance with the federal Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Senate Republican Leader Bill Sharer, a Republican from Farmington, said the commission can’t scrutinize federal agencies while giving a pass to “two of the most powerful Democrats in New Mexico.” The caucus is asking the commission to take up the request at its next scheduled meeting Aug. 5, though the tentative agenda for that meeting does not currently list subpoenas or the Haaland/Stansbury request as an item.
More information
- House Truth Commission first met Feb. 17, 2026 (recording)
- Next meeting: Aug. 5, 2026, 2 p.m., State Capitol Room 307
- Agenda includes presentation of report and survivor testimony; no subpoena action currently listed
- Watch live: Zoom Webinar
- Committee info: (505) 986-4600 or Randall Cherry, Randall.Cherry@nmlegis.gov
- Full committee page: nmlegis.gov, House Special Investigatory Committee